Presence and Persistence of Basque Toponymy in Catalan Pyrenees

Presence and persistence of Basque toponymy in Catalan Pyrenees. Some geographical questions

Joan TORT-DONADA

1. Introduction The existence of the Basque language, or Euskara, forming a veritable “linguistic island” (due to its non-Indo-European origin, and to the impossibility of establishing any links with any known language family) in the southeast of Europe, raises interesting questions of a geo- linguistic and geo-historic nature; it also raises interesting questions of onomastics, in general, and of toponymy, in particular. Although today the language is spoken mostly in the autonomous community of the Basque Country and in part of Navarre in Spain, and in the dépar- tement of Pyrénées-Atlantiques in France, it is widely accepted that historically its territory was much broader: specifically, it extended across Aquitaine and much of the Ebro river basin, occupying more than half the mountain chain of the Pyrenees and extending as far even as the western sector of the Catalan Pyrenees.1 Looking beyond the existence of this “linguistic island”, attempts at understanding the Basque language and its toponymy from a historical perspective run into a further problem: its somewhat uncertain delimitation with respect to other ancient languages. And, more especially, with respect to Iberian, that is, the palaeo-Hispanic language spoken in the Iberian Peninsula before Latin established itself as the predominant language. Thus, the fact that Basque was a non-Indo-Euro- pean language led experts, among whom we find Wilhelm von Hum- boldt, at the beginning of the 19th century, to question whether they might not in fact be the same language. Along the last five decades the Basque-Iberian theory has been gradually discredited (Velaza 2002: 11-14).

1 The area is defined with greater precision by different authors. See, for instance, Gorrochategui, 1995: 229.

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Within this framework, I believe that the current state of affairs is well characterised in the following paragraph taken from the work of Joaquín Gorrochategui, who has studied ancient Basque thorough its ancient onomastics: The linguistic situation of much of Hispania during antiquity remains shrouded in darkness. Although in recent years, major advances have been made in our understanding of palaeo-Hispanic languages, not all the zones of Hispania have benefited equally. (…) The zone of influence of the Basque language—that is, the Spanish and French Basque Country, plus Navarre, plus an extensive territory on both sides of the Western and Central Pyrenees—has traditionally been typified, in common with the whole of the north of the peninsular, by a lack of documentation. This situation has largely hindered any interpretation of language materials themselves and the solving of key questions—such as, the delimitation of the geographical areas of the languages in conflict. (Gorrochategui 1995: 181) Accepting without reservation this situation of “darkness” to which Gorrochategui alludes, in this article I propose reflecting on some of the questions raised above; but not so much from a linguistic point of view, but rather by adopting a geographical perspective. More specifically: I wish to focus my attention on a selection of ancient toponyms from the western sector of the Catalan Pyrenees, regarded by linguists as being of Basque or proto-Basque origin, or at least, pre- Latin, and to analyse them specifically in terms of their geographical dimension. In other words, interpreting as far as possible their correspondence with the realities and circumstances of the region, and with the specific spatial areas to which they are applied. I thus focus my attention on the nature of their meaning, their suitability in relation with the geographical features of place, and their degree of plausibil- ity with respect to the traditional practices of agriculture, livestock farming and forestry in the zone. As I see it, fixing with the greatest degree of precision and for the greatest possible number of cases the correspondence between names and geographical realities should serve as a way of guaranteeing (and, up to a point, of orienting) future lines of research. Above all in a field, such as ancient toponymy, so prone to doubt and the absence of any great certainties. Whatever the case, this study is based on the following premise: the idea that place names, in general, show a much greater tendency

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to survive over time than do other proper names—such as, for example, anthroponyms. Toponyms seem to be characterised by their “resistance to substitution” which often makes them markers par excellence of the major upheavals (particularly, in cultural terms) that befall a territory. A process that Francisco Villar sums up as follows: Unlike peoples’ names, the names of geographical relief features and towns tend to survive over the centuries and millennia. The new arrivals to a territory, if they do not exterminate the population, receive from the autochthonous people the names of the rivers, mountains and towns, and they adapt them both phonetically and morphologically to their own language, thus ensuring their continuity, even when the autochthonous people abandon their ancestral language and culture. Each change of language that occurs in a territory results in a certain ‘toponymic mortality’ and, parallel to this, a certain incorporation of toponyms of new creation, the work of the newly arrived; but a broad nucleus of names is maintained. (Villar 2002: 61)

2. The Basque language and its reflection in the toponymy of the Pyrenees. Problems raised by its study The study of the ancient toponymy of the Pyrenees—independent of the question of its relation with the Basque or Iberian languages—remains today, two centuries after the first research undertaken by philologists, an area full of unanswered questions and one of undoubted interest for the expert. In practice, we are dealing with a subject that cannot simply be classified as exotic or of archaeological interest: it concerns a series of place names that constitute an important part of the “major toponymy” (names of towns and villages, mountains and main rivers, and the most important places), and even of the “minor toponymy”, of the Pyrenees. And achieving a better academic understanding, conditioned by the problems noted in the introduction, continues to be a necessary yet, at the same time, an extraordinarily complex task. The leading 20th-century philologist, Joan Coromines, has made a major contribution to this field by raising some basic questions regarding the ancient toponymy of the Pyrenees in his studies dedicated, above all, to examining its etymology.2 The author presents a

2 Joan Coromines was one of the most important Catalan linguists of the 20th century. His main publications were the Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e

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theory of the survival of the Basque language up to the 10th century in the western sector of the Catalan Pyrenees, where it coexisted with the Romance languages (Coromines 1965). His theory has been widely questioned in recent years—although this has not meant that he does not have a large number of defenders among Romance philologists today.3 Indeed, while I do not explore this linguistic debate in depth, it would seem that the “state of the question” as established by Coromines at the beginning of his study, and which I summarize below, continues to be significant:

The study of the pre-Roman toponyms of the Iberian Peninsula is not as yet a particularly well developed field. We are still lacking many basic notions (…). The nature of pre-Roman languages is very poorly understood, as is the number of these languages and their family relations (…). The hypotheses with which we work are, in general, highly provisional; and even when we have recourse to slightly more solid notions, they usually lack sufficient clarity, sim- plicity or security. In short: if we seek not to wander too far from what is clear and safe, it is evident that in the pre-Romanic toponymy of the Peninsula two groups should be distinguished: the Indo- European and the non-Indo-European toponyms.4 (Coromines 1965: 94-95) And, later, Coromines enters into further detail by raising the question within a more specific geographical framework: the western sector of the Catalan Pyrenees (the easternmost point reached by the Basque language, according to the author, on the threshold of the 10th century). Coromines writes: “These valleys [the highest points of the Val d’Aran, Pallars and Ribagorza] presented, in the middle of the Roman era (10th-11th centuries), a quite unique linguistic pic- ture. A long symbiosis of Basque and Latin gave rise there to a

hispánico (1980-1991), the Diccionari etimològic i complementari de la llengua catalana (1983-1991) and the Onomasticon Cataloniae (1989-1997), a general etymological dictionary of Catalan onomastics (which includes a total of 45,383 entries). 3 On the problems encountered in the study of the so-called ‘pre-Roman substrate’ in the western sector of the Catalan Pyrenees and on the validity of arguments in favour and against Coromines’ theory see, in particular, Rabella (2007). See, also, Untermann (1999). 4 The italics are mine.

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toponymy of extremely deviant phonetics. To this day, the toponyms of some places in the area present a highly archaic mixture of Basque and Romance languages.” (Coromines 1965: 121). One thing is certain, we have entered a terrain of considerable speculation. But it should be stressed that Coromines himself shows great prudence and restraint when dealing with the question: “(…) at heart what we mean, by proposing a Basque etymological explanation for Romanic toponyms, is simply that we are dealing with some pre-Roman non-Indo-European toponyms; and this is all we can safely claim”5 (Coromines 1965: 98). Whatever the case, the Pyrenees as a whole was one of the areas that Coromines studied most exhaustively during his academic career. Above all, in terms of the analyses and surveys he conducted in the field (information which he frequently used as the primary sources for his studies). I believe that this fact confers added value to his scientific contribution, in particular as regards his overall vision of the problems dealt with. In the aforementioned article, the author enumerates three specific reasons that led him to focus his attention, as a philologist, on the regions of the Pyrenees mountain region: “From the outset [we should remember] that there is no other region as conservative topo- nymically as the Pyrenees, nor one that has conserved so many pre- Roman elements. Second, this region has been studied relatively little by scholars of ancient toponymy (…). Finally, in compiling the onomastic dictionary Onomasticon Cataloniae, I myself undertook the field surveys in the Pyrenees mountain zone” (Coromines 1965: 93-94). Coromines’ skill for summarising his data (and for providing a global overview) and his capacity for establishing comparisons and interrelations between the linguistic facts, and between the linguistic and geographical facts, makes his work of great interest for the geographer (Tort 2007).6 The section that follows, therefore, is largely inspired by Coromines’ approach.7

5 The italics are mine. 6 From the field of philology, authors such as Gorrochategui have made similar pronouncements regarding Coromines’s contribution. In this regard, see especially: Gorrochategui 2002: 93-94. 7 Specially in terms of the etymological analysis, Coromines (1983 and 1989-1997).

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3. Case study: a geographical analysis of some proto-Basque toponyms in the Catalan Pyrenees 3.1. The general context: the Pyrenees mountains The toponyms that I have selected occur in a territorial framework which, owing to its specific characteristics, needs first to be carefully examined. The chain of mountains known as the Pyrenees, one of the main relief systems in Europe (indeed, the most important in the southeast corner of the continent) acts as a physical barrier separating the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe. As far as our study here is concerned, its role as a physical barrier needs to be carefully stressed: the mountain system is highly developed, both in terms of its length (which runs 450 km from west to east, from Cape Higuer to the Cap de Creus) and width (exceeding 100 km in a perpendicular line drawn from north to south, in the chain’s central sector—that of greatest altitude). According to Lluís Solé Sabarís, a leading, mid-20th century scholar of the Pyrenees, its role as a barrier

General map of Ribagorza (with the 23 place names analized).

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makes it highly impermeable to any transversal communications, which is effectively the main difference between this mountain range and that of the Alps—and this barrier effect has had a far reaching impact on its human and cultural evolution (Solé Sabarís 1951). For Gorrochategui, from as early as the Bronze Age, the unique relief of the Pyrenees resulted in a highly marked process of cultural differentiation. “The Pyrenees (…), according to our earliest archaeological and linguistic data, do not form a single cultural unit. In broad terms, there has been, from earliest times, a separation between the eastern and Mediterranean Pyrenees, on the one hand, typically much more open to cultural innovations, and the western and central Pyre- nees, on the other, more self-enclosed and lagging behind in their adoption of any general innovative practices.” According to the same author, one of the consequences of this process was the time lag in the adoption of writing: “While in the Mediterranean zone there is evidence of writing from as early as the 6th century BC, thanks to the epigraphs introduced by Greek merchants, [in the Atlantic zone] we have to wait until the Roman conquests of the southeast of Gaul, and the pacification of the mountain territories of Vasconia and Cantabria, before we begin to find Latin epigraphs.” And later on: “Following the change of era we note that the eastern zone is poor in indigenous data, while in Aquitaine and in other zones of the Pyrenees the indigenous onomastics survives throughout the period of the Empire” (Gorrochategui 2002: 75). These differences have more than a certain relevance to this study, to the extent that the “frontier” between the two zones described by Gorrochategui (the eastern and the western) coincides, approximately, with the sector of the Catalan Pyrenees where a large number of toponyms of Basque and proto-Basque origin are to be found. In other words, the sector in which Coromines focused his studies, and which serves as our area of reference here.

3.2. The specific context: the historical region of Ribagorza In order to limit this toponymic analysis and so as to be able to make it geographically coherent, my selection of names is restricted to just a part of the reference area described. Specifically, to the high valley of the Noguera Ribagorzana river—identified, historically, as the region of Ribagorza. The territory, which occupies some 2,900 km2

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Photo 1. Ribagorza. A general view of the medium sector of Noguera Riba- gorzana valley.

(and has approximately 16,000 inhabitants in 2010), coincides historically with the former medieval county of the same name (and one of the most powerful in the Pyrenees between the 9th and 11th centuries). Today it is divided, administratively, between the autonomous communities of Catalonia (eastern sector) and Aragon (western sector). This region is defined, both historically and in its present-day reality, by a toponym whose roots can be traced far back in time: Ribagorza/ Ribagorça, documented as Ripacurtia in the 11th century. This toponym, written in Vulgar Latin, is a compound noun comprising two words whose meaning is fairly transparent: “ripa” (riba in present-day Catalan, which here has the meaning of “steep slope formed by the falling away of earth made up of limes and clays”), and “curtia” (derived from “curtus”, cut). Thus, the hypothesis accepted by linguists is that the etymological meaning of the toponym is, approximately, “the land of river banks (or of cut river banks)”.8

8 See Coromines, OnoCat, VI, 385-386. (All the references as OnoCat in the footnotes correspond to Coromines 1989-1997).

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My selection includes twenty-three toponyms, which I have cho- sen on the basis of their geographical meaning from among the fifty that Coromines identified in the region and which he classified as being pre-Roman names (Coromines 1965: 221-222). To analyse them, I have grouped them in five thematic fields: orographic toponyms, toponyms related to the network of paths and roads, toponyms that reflect economic land uses, analogic toponyms and toponyms related to the vegetation. In any case we have to emphasize—regardless the fact that our study set the focus on the oldest toponymy in the region (i.e., place names of Basque or proto-Basque origin)—that the lexical basis of toponymy in the Ribagorza is, for its most part (and, at least since the late Middle Ages), of romanic origin (Terrado 2010). Precisely this circumstance will allow us, in the analysis developed in the next section, to establish frequent analogies and comparisons—of special interest, from the semantic point of view—from one type of toponym to another.

3.3. Orographic toponyms Besiberri The toponym is used today to refer to a large massif, one of the highest in Ribagorza (climbing over 3,000 metres), but it would seem that it was applied initially to a somewhat inaccessible valley at the foot of the massif. In fact, the etymology of the name (from the Basque root baso-be erri, “a place at the foot of the crags”)9 suggests that it would have been used originally in reference to an area surrounding the massif. In terms of comparative toponymy, this name has interesting links with that of a neighbouring mountain, Comalespada (a toponym of Romance origin), the meaning of which is identical, albeit based on two present-day terms from the Catalan lexis (“coma” and “espadat”).10 In relation to toponyms of this type, Coromines suggests that it is normal that the name was not initially applied strictly to refer to the massif, but rather to the area in which it stood: before mountain climbing became popular, what today we know as “high mountain areas” were of little importance to the local inhabitants (Coromines

9 OnoCat, II, 488. 10 OnoCat, III, 415.

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1965: 171). By contrast, the valley to which the name was initially applied was of interest because of its woods and pasture.

Montiberri This is a small hamlet built halfway up the northern slope of Faiada de Malpàs (alt. 1,699 m), a hill that climbs a thousand metres above the floor of the Noguera Ribagorzana valley. Its location at a site that exploits the only flat terrace, which crosses the northern slope in a longitudinal direction, matches well with the etymology that Coro- mines proposes for its name: from the Basque root mendi-be erri, which in this case would be equivalent to the idea of a “place below the mountain”.11 Coromines explains the transformation of Mendiberri to Montiberri via the translation of the first component in the name from Basque to Latin, following the Romanization of the region (Coromines 1965: 170-172).

Corronco, Corroncui, Concurrell In some sectors to the west of Ribagorça, in the contact zone between the axis of the Pyrenees and the inner mountain ranges of the Pre- Pyrenees, lie several prominent and distinctive relief units, which stand out owing to the size of their rounded features. A good example is provided by Corronco, above the village of Durro, which reaches a height of 2543 m. The toponym, of pre-Roman origin according to Coromines, is derived from the Basque kunkur(r) and is equivalent to the idea of “hunchback”.12 It can be interpreted, therefore, as a metonymy with clear landscape value. This meaning is repeated in two further toponyms of similar structure that lie relatively close to the above feature: Corroncui, a small village on the northern slope of the Serra de Sant Gervàs (with very rounded forms),13 and Concurrell, an ancient farmhouse on the eastern slope of the mountain of Sant Cosme (with a similar profile to the above).14 The name Corroncui is, according to Coromines, derived from Corronco attached to the Basque Iberian suffix -OI, which evolved to -ui. In turn, Concurrell, appears also to be derived from the root word kunkur but without having undergone

11 OnoCat, V, 357. 12 OnoCat, III, 441-442. 13 Ibid. 14 Ibid.

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Photo 2. A view of the neighborhood of Concurrell farmhouse from the Areny castle (Central Ribagorza). Applied to the mountain at left, this ancient name (Concurrell > kunkur) seems to suggest the landscaping idea of “hunchback”.

metathesis, subsequently acquiring a Catalan ending. From a geographical perspective, it is important to underline that in the three examples analysed there is a very clear correspondence (albeit at different scales: Corronco/mountain; Corroncui/small village; Concur- rell/farmhouse) between the etymologies described and the direct semantic referent of each toponym—what Carl Sauer would refer to as the particular “morphology of the landscape” of each place (Sauer 1925).

Bono In the northern sector we find the small village of Bono (documented as Bonnobe in 978). Lying at the foot of the eastern spurs of the Serra de Ventolà, which rise up over the settlement to a height of more than 1000 m, it is a further example of the correspondence between location and place name; at least, if we turn to its etymology which identifies it as a toponym whose origin can be traced to the Basque root

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bono-be, meaning “under the crag”.15 Geographically speaking, the site of Bono, on the floor of valley of the Noguera Ribagorzana river and at the foot of the eastern slope of Serra de Ventolà (whose peak, at 2,125 m, is at least 2 km from the village), presents marked parallels with other villages of Ribagorza that also occupy “strategic” locations (in relation to the mountain and also the river). Comparisons could be made for example with Sopeira (a name of Latin etymology, documented as Supetra in 851); the etymology (from the Latin SUB PETRA, “under the rock”),16 clearly supports the geographic reality of the landscape: literally, at the foot of the northern face of the Serra de Sant Gervàs, beside the ancient path that runs along the valley floor—parallel to the river.

Rallui This toponym, which identifies a small hamlet in the basin of the river Isàvena (strictly speaking, outside the Noguera Ribagorzana basin but forming part of the region of Ribagorza), was first recorded in the 10th century as Lorrué or Lorrui. This would seem to suggest a metathesis of the l- and -r-, and, hence, a connection between the original name and the Basque root lorr-, which alludes to the idea of “landslides” or “landslips”. In other words: characteristic features of the morphology of the landscape of this area, as Coromines points out,17 and which, simi- larly, and for genuinely geomorphological reasons, are present in broad sectors of the valleys (principal and secondary) of Ribagorza. I should point out, however, as I did in section 3.2, that the etymology that has been proposed for the toponym of Ribagorza—not a pre-Roman name, but rather of Latin origin—points explicitly to the idea of “land of cut river banks” which also underlies the etymology of the name Rallui.

3.4. Toponyms related to the network of paths Suert / el Pont de Suert Ribagorça, a physically fragmented territory and one characterised, in almost its entirety, by its rugged relief (independent of altitude), has a network of traditional paths directly conditioned by its topographic

15 OnoCat, III, 73. 16 OnoCat, VII, 159. 17 OnoCat, VI, 332-333.

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Photo 3. The capital of North Ribagorza: El Pont de Suert (Suert < zubiri “the village of the bridge”).

conditions. Until the early exploitation of hydroelectricity in the Noguera Ribagorzana valley, in the middle of the twentieth century, and the consequent construction of the network of highways and secondary roads, much of the transit and internal communications were channelled along the traditional paths, which in general tended to run east-west (or west-east), seeking a route through the mountain crests, or inter-fluvial divides, as the best way to avoid the obstacles presented by the fact that the principal rivers run through deep ravines— many of which are impassable (Vilar 1964, I: 237-259). Thus, an interpretation of some of the region’s place names is possible based on matters of accessibility and systems of communica- tion, very much linked to the specific geographical and historical conditions of the local environment. One of the most significant examples in this sense is el Pont de Suert, the toponym of an important village in the northern sector of Ribagorza (whose medieval name was, simply, Suert). This appears as one of the most interesting place names in relation to the paths and roads of the Pyrenees, since it uses two lexical elements, both of which make reference to the idea of the “bridge” in constructing the toponym. Thus, we have the Catalan word pont

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(forming part of the new name) and from the ancient Basque, we have zubiri (precursor of the name Suert).18 Therefore, were this hypothesis to be correct, el Pont de Suert would, etymologically speaking, constitute a toponymic tautology: “the bridge of the village of the bridge”. Geographically speaking, anyway, it is important to note that the toponymic formula that has given rise to the name of El Pont de Suert is reproduced on two more occasions along the same river: some 20 km to the south of the town, in El Pont d’Orrit, and a further 15 km on, in El Pont de Montanyana: in both cases, the new village has grown up next to the bridge while the ancient village (Orrit in the first instance, and Montanyana in the second) has maintained its original site, away from the river. Finally, it should also be noted that the name of Sort, a village located some 40 km to the east of el Pont de Suert, likewise occupying a site in the middle of the Pyrenees mountain chain but in the valley of the Noguera Pallaresa river, is interpreted etymologically in an identical manner by Coromines (and with a similar argumentation) to that of Suert, in the sense that it also means “the village of the bridge”.19

Taüll Taüll, lying in the north-eastern sector of Ribagorza, is one of the most historically important settlements in the Boí valley. The etymology of this toponym, once more—according to Coromines—of Basque origin, can be interpreted as meaning the “village near the pass”.20 This hypothesis is fully supported by the village’s geographical and historical reality: the origin of Taüll (a settlement with a marked central character with respect to the valley as a whole) cannot be separated from the links that this valley has maintained throughout its history with the neighbouring valley of Cabdella, to the east, with which it shares the same tradition of mountain pasture farming (which was of great economic importance in past eras). What is more, the site of the village beside the ancient path through the pass (that is, the port de Rus, the traditional pass from Ribagorça to Pallars) seems to con- firm Coromines’ hypothesis.

18 OnoCat, VII, 185-187. 19 Coromines, 1965 I: 202-207. 20 Taüll is derived, according to Coromines, from ancient Basque (a)ta-uri, with the meaning stated. OnoCat, VII, 248.

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Photo 4. Taüll, one of the most outstanding places in Boí valley, Northeastern Ribagorza (Taüll < (a) ta-uri “the village near the pass”).

The name of Taüll, in terms of its geographical meaning, presents interesting analogies with another name in Ribagorza—in this case, of Latin origin—given to a pass of great historical significance: Viacamp. Undoubtedly, a key site in the historical geography of the region, since it has been (and remains) the point through which all travellers must pass—today, too, when taking the main road—in going from Rib- agorza to the south (Lleida, the Ebro valley, Zaragoza, Barcelona). Documented as Via Campo in 1077, it is a name that clearly alludes to the ancient path21 (supposedly, like Taüll) and which confirms, by its toponymy, the function this place served, thanks to its “strategic position” in linking the territories over the ages.

Orrit / Durro The name of Orrit, a place located some 20 km to the south of El Pont de Suert, also on the river Noguera Ribagorzana, holds some toponymic analogies with Durro—the name of a little village in the Boí valley. The former (first referred to as castro Orritense in a document

21 OnoCat, VIII, 8.

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dating to 826) can also be traced, according to Coromines, to a Basque etymon, urruti, which could be interpreted as “the separated place (with respect to a hypothetical point)”.22 Observation of the geographical setting of the place reveals a narrowing of the valley, controlled from a nearby prominence, some 150 m higher up, by the medieval castle of Orrit (next to the ancient village, which today stands abandoned). This narrowing was used as a passing point with a bridge built over the river, also medieval in origin (and surviving in part to this day). On the same bank as the castle, but beside the river and at the side of the bridge, a small modern settlement has been built (of barely half a dozen buildings), which significantly is called El Pont d’Orrit (see discussion above). In my opinion, this idea of “distancing” or separation in the etymology of the toponym can be closely associated with the geographical location of Orrit: hidden away in the valley, raised up above the level of the river, next to the path and the bridge, and from which all access to the zone can be carefully controlled. Other scholars point out that the place name of Orrit is, according to their sources, the most ancient name of Latin origin to be documented in the region (via the form Orretum, in an inscription found far from the place and which experts have been unable to date) (Rabella 2007: 206). According to Coromines, the toponym Durro (documented with this form in 1064) can be interpreted etymologically in the same way as Orrit.23 The hypothesis is geographically credible, given that the physical site of the village presents analogies with that of the ancient place of Orrit: it also has a prominent location, somewhat away from the river, in a bend in the valley, and to enter it from the main valley road the traveller has to cross a bridge.

3.5. Toponyms that reflect economic land uses Montanui / Gotarta Half a dozen kilometres north of El Pont de Suert, and alongside the river Noguera Ribagorzana, we find another point of great significance in terms of the territory’s historical use, Montanui. Its location coincides with that sector of the valley which constitutes, in geomorphological

22 OnoCat, IV, 31-33 23 OnoCat, IV, 31-32. The name, of equivalent etymology, would have formed from the base word (a)d urru.

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Photo 5. Montanui, in the glacial sector of Noguera Ribagorzana valley (Montanui < mendinobe “place of rest for livestock”).

terms, the limit of the zone of glacial action, during the quaternary age, in this part of the Pyrenees (Vilaplana 1982). The geographical consequences of this geological event are important: in the sector affected by glacial action, the valley floor is in general much wider than elsewhere and its soils are better suited to farming and the grazing of livestock. Thus, for the traveller coming from the south, the meadows and pastures of Montanui make it readily identifiable as the first village obviously dedicated to livestock farming. Coromines associates the place name, of somewhat obscure etymology, with a root word of Basque origin, mendinobe, which came to mean “place of rest for livestock”.24 What is true is that the landscape surrounding Montanui, in a widening of the valley floor and with abundant pasture just outside the village, appears to support this interpretation. Further south, but on the opposite slope of the valley, another name (of different morphology, but of similar etymology), Gotarta, points to a settlement of similar characteristics to that of Montanui,

24 OnoCat, V, 329.

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but in this case one that is not located on the valley floor but rather on the mountain side.25 Coromines interprets the name as meaning “place of corrals”, related with the Basque word gorta. The two toponyms, therefore, are clearly comparable if we take into consideration the complementary nature of the farming practices of the two places (specifically, two local economies with a marked dependence on livestock farming).

Ardanui / Ardanué Two toponyms that constitute a significant historical testimony to the vineyards in the north of the region are Ardanui and Ardanué: a cou- ple of settlements situated facing each other, on opposite slopes and at the same latitude and altitude, in the area of what, in the context of Ribagorza, can be considered as the high Pyrenees.26 According to Coromines, both toponyms are names of pre-Roman origin that can be traced to the Basque root ardan, referring to the planting of vines.27 Their presence constitutes an interesting fact in our knowledge of the historical boundaries of the cultivation of woody plants (such as the vine and olive tree) on the southern slopes of the Pyrenees, on the subject of which a number of authors have made important contributions over the past century.28 In fact, as far as the colonization of the region’s territory is concerned (or, in other words, its historical geography) we believe that these two names have considerable value as landscape indicators (Tort & Sancho 2011b). From the perspective of geographic parallelisms, it is interesting to compare these two toponyms with a third, Vinyal, a small hamlet lying a few kilometres upstream of Vilaller-Montanui (in the sector that marks the southernmost limit of glacial action in this valley, as we have pointed out in the last paragraph). Vinyal, a name clearly derived from the Romance languages, can be considered a “transparent

25 OnoCat, IV, 372-373. 26 Interestingly, Vinyal, the most northerly of the three, lies on a straight line with the peak of Aneto, the highest mountain in the Pyrenees, at a distance of less than 15 km. Likewise, Vinyal is a few kilometres upstream of Vilaller, which is the point in the Noguera Ribagorzana valley that geologists have identified as being the southernmost limit of glacial action in this valley towards the end of the Quaternary period. 27 OnoCat, II, 224-225. 28 In particular, Salvador Llobet (Llobet 1950). Lluís Solé Sabarís also tackles the question in Los Pirineos. El medio y el hombre (Solé Sabarís 1951).

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Photo 6. Ardanui, at the Northwestern Ribagorza. Despite the height (1400 m above sea level), its name seems related, historically, with planting of vine (< Basque root ardan “vine”). The place name has two orthographic forms: Ardanui (Catalan) and Ardanuy (Aragonese/Castilian).

toponym” which documents the presence of the ancient cultivation of vineyards in this place.

Estet Estet is the name of a small settlement in the municipality of Monta- nui, in the upper reaches of the Noguera Ribagorzana valley (and lying within the area that came under the influence of quaternary glacial processes). According to Coromines, its etymology can be explained in relation to the ancient Basque term astoetu, formed from the root asto, “donkey”, and meaning “place of donkeys”.29 As such it mirrors the toponym of Aneto—the name given to a hamlet lying in the same valley and very near Estet, in that the etymology of their names (Romance, in the case of Aneto) points in all likelihood in the same direction: a derivation of the Latin ASINETUM, with the same meaning as that of astoetu.

29 OnoCat, IV, 159.

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The presence of such names is quite normal in a high mountain area. Before the mechanisation of the countryside, the donkey was the animal typically used for transport, and the breeding of this animal was, in those mountain zones best adapted to it, a highly lucrative business and of great importance for the local economy. For this reason many places in the high Pyrenees, both in Catalonia and Aragon, bear a name with this etymological base: in addition to Estet and Aneto, there are two villages with the name Ainet and another named Aineto in two neighbouring valleys (Cardós and Vallferrera), to the east of the Noguera Ribagorzana basin.30

3.6. Parallel toponyms By parallel toponyms we understand those that have been formed by relating one with the other. That is, their existence cannot be understood by analysing each separately but rather by considering them together in a “reciprocal relationship”. Obvious examples of this type of toponymic behaviour are the pairs formed by Iran/Irgo and Tercui/Tendrui. All are used in naming small villages within our region of study.

Iran / Irgo These two names are used to identify two hamlets located halfway up the slopes of the Boí valley, in the upper reaches of the Noguera Ribagorzana basin, occupying sites that are some distance from the valley floor. They are separated from each other by about two kilometres, but are linked by an ancient local path. Etymologically, Iran is believed to have been derived from the Basque phrase iri-andi (“the major village”) and Irgo from iri-ko (“the minor village”).31 The two present very similar characteristics (as far as their location in the valley and urban physiognomy are concerned); this probably explains the link between the two names—made visible in their etymology, which alludes to their contrasting sizes (“major” versus “minor”).

Tercui / Tendrui The pair formed by Tercui and Tendrui presents certain similarities to those names described in the case of the toponyms discussed in the

30 Concerning the etymology of Aneto, Ainet and Aineto, see OnoCat, II, 41-43. 31 OnoCat, IV, 443.

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preceding example. The names are used to identify two small settlements in the southern part of the region, situated at the same latitude (although, the second, lies in a different river basin: that of the Noguera Pallaresa river) and with a number of physical characteristics in common, including their physiognomy and high altitude location (high above the valley floor). Here, however, the link between the etymologies appears to allude to a marked difference in the quality of their respective soils. Tercui, derived from the ancient Basque word tirko,32 points, according to Coromines, to the idea of “hardness” and “rigidity” (in Catalan, enterc) corresponding to the stony, arid soils found in this place. By contrast, Tendrui, formed from the Latin adjective TENER (corresponding to the idea of “tender”) and the proto-Basque suffix -OI (> -UI, in its Catalan modification),33 alludes to a soil that is more malleable and of greater quality (corresponding, also, to a quite distinct lithology to the one found in Tercui).

3.7. Toponyms related to the vegetation Finally, the etymologies of the last three toponyms that we shall look at—Ginast, Llastarri and Dellui—are related in some way with the local vegetation and, as such, are examined under the same heading. The importance of toponyms related to the vegetation in the region of Ribagorza is quite marked, and while this importance is particularly evident in the toponymy derived from Romance languages (Tort 2007; Tort & Sancho 2011b), it is also quite visible in certain toponyms of Basque or proto-Basque etymology.

Ginast The name of Ginast identifies a small village on the banks of the river Noguera Ribagorzana, in the northern section of Ribagorza, within the municipality of Montanui. Its etymology, according to Coromines, is derived from the Basque root hagin or agin and refers to a tree, the yew (in Catalan, teix),34 which is not typical of the area, but which has considerable symbolic meaning, at least, in the Pyrenees. Presumably, it is this exceptional character that accounts for the fact that it is often

32 OnoCat, VII, 261. 33 Ibid. 34 OnoCat, IV, 352-353.

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referred to in place names. Coromines claims that: “It is a tree that has given rise to many toponyms. It appears only rarely and wherever it grows it does not usually form woods, but it is always a highly visible, striking tree.”35 In the south of Ribagorza, in the ancient municipality of Espills, there is another example: the stream known as barranc del Teix, also with a significant presence of this species.

Llastarri The toponym Llastarri refers to a small hamlet, today abandoned, in the mid-section of the region, in the ancient district of Espluga de Serra. First mentioned in a document dated 909 (“in valle Lasta- riense”), it provides interesting evidence of the very early settlement of Ribagorza; specifically of the western foothills of the Serra de Sant Gervàs, an area of arid, stony ground. Herein lies perhaps the explanation of its etymology, which is presumably of Basque origin: according to Coromines, the place name may be a compound of the root words lasto (the herbaceous plant, brachypodium retusum, equivalent to the Catalan llistó or Castilian listón) and arri (meaning “rocky”).36 Both circumstances—the presence of the grass plant and a predomi- nantly rocky environment—are very clearly present in this place.

Dellui The final toponym included in this analysis is that of Dellui, which corresponds to a high mountain spot in the upper part of the Boí valley, in the sector of Sant Nicolau, in the heart of the Aigüestortes National Park. The name would appear to be of Basque or proto-Basque origin and to be linked, according to Coromines, to the root word ote- ili-one, suggesting the presence of the gorse shrub plant (Genista scor- pius, in Catalan argelaga).37 Geographically, this shrub, commonly found in Mediterranean environments, is typical of the matorral plant community: that is, the mountain ecosystem that forms as a result of the destruction of the woods. Therefore, it might represent a possible “label” (acquiring toponymic expression in our case) of the existence of ancient woods—perhaps destroyed during the initial settlement of the territory. Whatever the case, it is worth noting that throughout the

35 Ibid. 36 OnoCat, V, 43-44. 37 OnoCat, IV, 15.

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Pyrenees there are numerous comparable ancient toponyms; for example, Odelló, in the region of the Cerdanya, which Coromines explains in very similar terms to those applied to Dellui.38

4. Conclusions One of the authors quoted at the beginning of this paper, Joaquím Gorrochategui, raised an idea, in relation to the ancient languages of the Pyrenees, which, in some ways, summarises what has been the primary concern underpinning this article: “Many of the ancient toponyms are not readily explained by any known language, and the impression we are left with is that their formation can be traced back to very remote times. The problem is, evidently, in determining the reason for their origin”39 (Gorrochategui 2002: 96). The author presents this idea in the context of the major dilem- mas that historically have been caused by the relationship between Indo-European and non-Indo-European languages in the Pyrenees, and more specifically in relation to the specific case of the Basque language and its antiquity and deep-rooted nature—reflected in the survival of numerous Basque or proto-Basque toponyms—throughout much of the mountain range. But, no doubt, this same idea has a general validity today for any language and for any region, regardless of its size and the number of its inhabitants: the reason for the origin of each name remains, at heart, the problem. And when we are dealing with such an ancient language, it is very difficult to do much more than simply speculate. Therefore, from the perspective of a very different discipline to that of linguistics, albeit from one that shares strong links with it, as geography surely does, I have wished to pose a series of questions concerning each of the toponyms analysed. Far from being a banal or capricious exercise, my main aim has been to make as explicit as possible, the capacity for the interrelation of the facts of reality, which are the concern of the geographer, with an etymological, or more generally onomastic, study, in the hope that this might contribute new, significant points of view.

38 See, in this regard, the article “Odelló” in OnoCat, VI, 10-12. 39 The italics are mine.

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By way of summary, I present a review of the most significant conclusions to be derived from the preceding analysis. a) The presence of a toponymy of Basque origin—or proto-Basque, Aquitanian, or non-Indo-European in general—in the Pyrenees, occurring in an area that lies outside the Basque country, has been conditioned historically by one major geographical reality: the role played by the mountain chain as a “physical barrier” in a longitudinal and transversal direction. Because of this, the physical distinction between the western and eastern Pyrenees is also visible in terms of their distinct cultural and human geographies. And the uneven distribution of this ancient toponymy within our geographical frame of reference is, ultimately, a good reflection of this also. b) The ancient nature of the Basque language substrate and its own internal diversity, combined with the absence of any broad-based source of written evidence until relatively recent times, represent intrinsic difficulties for conducting research in this field. In such a context, careful attention to the observations, correlations and analogies of a geographic-linguistic nature is fundamental in mak- ing up for the lack of other elements of study, and to ensure that we can advance in our etymological interpretations. In this respect, the work undertaken by Joan Coromines examining the toponymy of Basque origin in the Catalan Pyrenees constitutes, I believe, an example that should be very much borne in mind, especially as regards its methodology (above all, if we consider that a large part of the toponymic information that he obtained from the field could not have been gathered using any other methods or sources of information). c) Within this general framework of the Pyrenean toponymy of Basque or proto-Basque origin, limiting this study to that of a specific region (Ribagorza)—and creating what might be considered a full scale “geographical laboratory”—has enabled us to identify a series of important features regarding the diffusion and semantic reach of the names studied. There are perhaps three main features that should be stressed. First, the conclusion that factors of an orographic nature, in general, and topographic, in particular, have had a very marked impact on the region’s toponymy: not only as regards place names that bear a close relation to the relief and the physical geography, as was expected at the outset, but also as

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regards the toponyms that reflect the region’s economic uses and its network of traditional paths. Second, the study has identified a number of significant continuities in the genesis and formation of many of the toponyms; in other words, it seems that a given situation or geographical problem tends to originate a toponym of the same (or similar) “semantic profile”, independently of the languages or the territories in which this situation occurred. And, third, it is evident that these continuities, which I have sought to reflect in relation to the 23 toponyms selected, should not be taken as a “definitive result”; on the contrary, the consideration of geographical factors in an etymological study means accepting the possibility of obtaining new data and new observations and, in short, of real- izing once more that in the terrain of the sciences one’s results are always provisional.

References Coromines, J. 1965. La survivance du Basque jusqu’au Bas Moyen Âge. Phénomènes de bilingüisme dans les Pyrénées centrales. In: Estudis de toponímia catalana, I, 93-152. Barcelona: Barcino. Coromines, J. 1979-1991. Diccionari etimològic i complementari de la llengua catalana. [Etymological and Complementary Dictionary of Catalan Language] Barcelona, Curial Edicions-Caixa de Pen- sions, 9 vol. Coromines, J. 1983. Toponímia de la vall de Boí. [Toponymy of Vall de Boí (Catalonia, Spain)] In: Butlletí Interior de la Societat d’Onomàstica, 12 (1-20) & 14 (1-23). Coromines, J. 1989-1997. Onomasticon Cataloniae. Barcelona: Curial Edicions-Caixa de Pensions. 8 vol. [Abreviation: OnoCat] Gorrochategui, J. 1995. Los Pirineos entre Galia e Hispania: las lenguas. In: Veleia, 12, 181-234. Vitoria-Gasteiz. Gorrochategui, J. 2002. Las lenguas de los Pirineos en la antigüedad. [The languages in Pyrenees in Ancient Ages] In: Els substrats de la llengua catalana: una visió actual. [Treballs de la Societat Catalana de Llengua i Literatura, 1], 75-101. Barcelona: Socie tat Catalana de Llengua i Literatura-Institut d’Estudis Catalans. Llobet, S. 1950. El límite septentrional de la vid y el olivo en Cata- luña. [The Northern border for vine and olive-tree in Catalo- nia.] In: Actas del Primer Congreso Internacional de Estudios

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Pirenaicos del Instituto de Estudios Pirenaicos. San Sebastián: CSIC [publication in 1952]. Rabella, J. A. 2007. Reflexions sobre el substrat català al Pallars i a la Ribagorça. [Reflections on the Catalan substrat in Ribagorza and Pallars] In: Casanova, E.; Terrado, X. (eds), Studia in honorem Joan Coromines, 201-216. Lleida: Pagès Editors. Sauer, C. O. 1925. The Morphology of Landscape. In: University of California Publications in Geography, 2 (2): 19-53. Solé Sabarís, L. 1951. Los Pirineos. El medio y el hombre. [Man and Environment in the Pyrenees.] Barcelona: Alberto Martín. Terrado, X. 2010. La toponímia de la Ribagorça i el lèxic romànic. [The toponymy of Ribagorça and the romanic lexicon.] In: Creus, I., Puig, M. & Veny, J.R. (eds), Actes del Quinzè Col·loqui Interna- cional de Llengua i Literatura Catalanes (Universitat de Lleida, 7-11 de setembre de 2009), 43-79. Montserrat: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat. Tort, J. 2007. Per a una interpretació geogràfica de l’obra etimològica de Joan Coromines. [A call for a geographical interpretation of the Joan Coromines etymological works.] In: Casanova, E.; Terrado, X. (eds), Studia in honorem Joan Coromines, 263-287. Lleida: Pagès Editors. Tort, J. & Sancho, A. 2011a. Toponyms as Landscape Indicators. In: XXIV International Congress of Onomastics Sciences. Barcelona 5-9th September 2011. Proceedings [Forthcoming]. Tort, J. & Sancho, A. 2011b. The Landscape of Ribagorça (Catalonia- Aragon, Spain). An Analysis based on an Examination of the Regions’s Place Names. In: XXIV International Congress of Ono- mastics Sciences. Barcelona 5-9th September 2011. Proceedings [Forthcoming]. Untermann, J. 1999. Joan Coromines y la onomástica de la Hispania antigua. [Joan Coromines and the Ancient Hispanic Onomastics.] In: L’obra de Joan Coromines. Cicle d’estudi i homenatge, 183- 192. Sabadell: Fundació Caixa de Sabadell. Velaza, J. 2002. Darrers avenços en la investigació sobre la llengua ibèrica. [Recent advances in the research on Iberian language.] In: Els substrats de la llengua catalana: una visió actual. [Tre- balls de la Societat Catalana de Llengua i Literatura, 1], 11-32. Barcelona: Societat Catalana de Llengua i Literatura-Institut d’Estudis Cata lans.

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Vilaplana, J. M. 1982. Estudi del glaciarisme quaternari de les altes valls de la Ribagorça. [Study on the Quaternary glaciation in the upper valleys of Ribagorça.] Doctoral Thesis defended at Univer- sity of Barcelona. [Accessible to http://www.tdx.cat/] Vilar, P. 1964. El medi natural. [The natural environment] In: Catalu- nya dins l’Espanya moderna. I: 167-434. Barcelona: Edicions 62. 4 vol. Villar, F. 2002. Indoeuropeos y no indoeuropeos en Cataluña y el Nor- este hispano. [Indo-European and Non-Indo-European in Catalo- nia and the Hispanic Northeast.] In: Els substrats de la llengua catalana: una visió actual. [Treballs de la Societat Catalana de Llengua i Literatura, 1], 53-73. Barcelona: Societat Cata lana de Geografia-Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Acknowledgements Sincere thanks are due to Iain Kenneth Robinson for his linguistic assistance in the text, and to Émilie Tastevin, Gerlinde Keplinger and Alexis Sancho for their support. This paper has been prepared as part of the Research Project CSO2009-1225-C05-03.

Joan Tort-Donada Departament de Geografia Física i Anàlisi Regional Universitat de Barcelona. Facultat de Geografia i Història c/Montalegre, 6 E-08001 Barcelona, Spain [email protected]

Summary: Presence and persistence of Basque toponymy in Catalan Pyrenees. Some geographical questions The existence of Basque place names extending across the Pyrenees from west to east (from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean Sea, and some three hundred kilometres beyond the political boundary of the Basque Country) is one of the most interesting questions being examined today in the historical onomastics of the Iberian Peninsula. Given the exceptional nature of the Basque language on the linguistic map of Europe (in particular, its non-Indo- European origin), the presence and persistence of Basque toponymy (place names that can be described as being “Basque” or having a linguistic root that might historically be related to this language) throughout the Pyrenees mountain

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range raises important questions associated with the ancient settlement pattern of all this region (in terms of its Human Geography). In this context, the article undertakes a study of a selection of Basque and proto-Basque toponyms in the western sector of the Catalan Pyrenees, specifically, in the region of Ribagorza (generally considered the most conservative, linguistically speaking, in the whole of Catalonia). Against this background, the article focuses on those toponyms that are most closely related to the geography. In particular, it raises the question of the persistence of toponyms of this type over the ages (and, even, across different language systems). Special consideration is given to aspects associated with the original “spatial meaning” of toponyms, and with the geographical link between “names” and “places” (in terms, for instance, of location: cross-roads, fords of rivers, high-mountain grazing areas, etc.).

Résumé: Présence et persistance de la toponymie basque dans les Pyrénées catalanes. Quelques questions géographiques L’existence de noms de lieux basques tout au long des Pyrénées d’Ouest en Est (depuis la baie de Biscaye jusqu’à la mer Méditerranée, et quelques trois cent kilomètres au delà de la frontière politique du Pays Basque) est une des plus intéressantes questions actuellement étudiées dans l’onomastique histo- rique de la péninsule Ibérique. Étant donné la nature exceptionnelle de la langue basque sur la carte linguistique de l’Europe (en particulier, son origine non indo-européenne), la présence et la persistance de la toponymie basque (des noms de lieux qui peuvent être identifiés comme « basques » ou avoir une racine linguistique qui peut être reliée historiquement à ce langage) à travers la variété et l’étendue des montagnes pyrénéennes soulèvent d’importantes questions liées à l’ancienneté du peuplement de toute cette région (en termes de Géographie Humaine). Cet article entreprend une étude de certains de ces toponymes basques et proto-basques dans le secteur ouest des Pyrénées catalanes, plus spécifiquement la région de Ribagorza (généralement considérée comme une des plus conservatrices, linguistiquement parlant, de la Catalogne). Dans ce contexte, l’article se focalise sur les toponymes qui sont plus préci- sément liés à la géographie. Et, en particulier, il soulève la question de la persistance des toponymes de ce type à travers les âges (et même à travers différents systèmes de langage). Une attention spéciale est apportée à des aspects concernant la « signification spatiale » originelle des toponymes et le lien géographique entre « noms » et « lieux » (en termes, par exemple, de localisation: croisements, gués, zones de pâturages en haute montagne, etc.).

Zusammenfassung: Präsenz und Persistenz von Baskischen Ortsnamen in den Katalanischen Pyrenäen: Geographische Fragestellungen Das Vorkommen baskischer Ortsnamen in den Pyrenäen von West nach Ost (vom Golf von Biskaya bis zum Mittelmeer, und einige 300 Kilometer jenseits der politischen Grenzen des Baskenlandes) ist eine der interessantesten Fragen,

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mit der sich die historische Onomastik auf der Iberischen Halbinsel derzeit beschäftigt. Angesichts der außergewöhnlichen Natur der baskischen Sprache in der sprachlichen Landschaft Europas (insbesondere ihres nicht-indoeuropäi- schen Ursprungs) wirft die Präsenz und die Persistenz baskischer Ortsnamen (d.h. jene Namen, die entweder direkt als „Baskisch“ gelten oder durch lin- guistische Wurzeln historisch mit dieser Sprache verbunden sein könnten) in den Pyrenäen wichtige Fragen im Zusammenhang mit den antiken Siedlungs- mustern aller dieser Regionen auf. In diesem Zusammenhang untersucht dieser Beitrag eine Auswahl baskischer und protobaskischer Ortsnamen in den west- lichen Sektoren der katalanischen Pyrenäen (bzw. in Ribagorza, einer Region, die sprachlich als die konservativste in ganz Katalonien gilt). Vor diesem Hintergrund konzentriert sich der Artikel auf Ortsnamen, die am engsten mit der Geographie verbunden sind. Und vor allem stellt sich die Frage nach der Langlebigkeit von Ortsnamen dieser Art über viele Jahrhunderte (und über unterschiedliche Sprachsysteme hinweg). Besondere Berücksichtigung finden dabei Aspekte, die die ursprüngliche „räumliche Bedeutung“ der Ortsnamen und besonders das geographische Verbindungsglied zwischen „Namen“ und „Orten“ betreffen (beispielsweise hinsichtlich ihrer Lage, wie im Fall von Straßenkreuzungen, Flussübergängen, Hochgebirgsweideflächen usw.)

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